Third New Jersey resident dies with swine flu

Leon Neal/AFP/Getty ImagesDNA test kits of the H1N1 influenza virus prepared by PrimerDesign Ltd are displayed at the company laboratory in Southampton in May.

SUSSEX -- A 10-year-old boy from the county is the third New Jersey resident with H1N1 influenza to die, the state health agency reported today.

The child, who had underlying medical conditions, was hospitalized June 14 after developing a cough and fever, according to a statement from the state Department of Health and Senior Services. He died Wednesday at Morristown Memorial Hospital, the agency said.

The boy had no symptoms on June 11, when he was last in school, the statement noted. The agency did not identify the child's school or hometown.

Joseph A. Trunfio, acting president of Morristown Memorial Hospital president and CEO of its parent organization, Atlantic Health, issued a statement last night noting the child's unspecified conditions existed before he was admitted to the hospital.

Trunfio added patients with flu-like symptoms that require hospitalization are routinely isolated, in keeping with the hospital's pandemic flu plan.

"The Morristown Memorial Hospital community expresses deepest condolences to the family of a child who passed away at our hospital today," he wrote in the statement.

New Jersey currently has 415 confirmed cases of the novel flu virus in 19 counties, with 252 probable cases awaiting confirmatory testing by the state laboratory, according to the state health agency's statement.

John Horensky, director of the Department of Public Health and health officer for Somerset County, said the 15-year-old boy was a student at a private school for children with special needs, located within the county but not in Franklin. Horensky said he could not name the school.

An autopsy was conducted by the state Medical Examiner's Office because the teenager died at home. Today State Medical Examiner Victor Weedn said his office is continuing to investigate the teen's cause of death, and is trying to determine whether he had underlying health conditions that contributed. Weedn said the investigation is expected to continue for a few more weeks.

Patricia Elliot, Franklin Township's acting director of health, declined to identify the section of Franklin where the teenager lived, or say if the child's family members have reported symptoms.

Elliot said the illness was reported to her office after the time period in which surveillance of possible contacts is advised under protocols published by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"A person is contagious from one day prior to illness to seven days after. There is an incubation period of three to four days. If anything is happening within that time frame, we would be doing surveillance," she said. "We were notified yesterday. ... Surveillance is only good if you hit it during the right time period."

The symptoms of H1N1 influenza -- fever, body ache, cough, sore throat, chills, fatigue, and in some cases diarrhea and vomiting -- are similar to those of seasonal flu.

State epidemiologist Christina Tan has said people with conditions including weakened immune systems and respiratory ailments are more likely to develop severe cases of H1N1 influenza.

The virus, recently declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization, has now reached 88 countries. On Wednesday the WHO reported 39,620 cases have been confirmed worldwide, included 167 deaths. The United States has reported 17,855 confirmed cases with 44 deaths, according to the WHO.

Elliot and Horensky both said the best way for people to protect themselves is to practice good hygiene. People are advised to cover sneezes and coughs with a tissue, wash hands frequently with soap and water or hand sanitizer, and stay home from work or school for a week if experiencing a fever of 100 degrees or higher with a cough or sore throat.

"The message that we need to get out, in all of this, is that we need to stop the spread of the illness," Elliot said.